This terrorist act will be followed by a firm and destructive response in the shortest time possible of the security and military forces,” said Ahmad Vahid on Wednesday. 

Elaborating on the details of the attacks that rocked a crowded memorial service at Kerman’s Martyrds Cemetery earlier in the day, Vahidi said most of the fatalities had been caused by a second explosion which took place 20 minutes after a first bomb exploded among the crowd. 

He said that a probe had been launched to determine who was behind the attacks and what caused them, adding that more information will be released to the public as soon as the results of the initial investigations are known. 

A latest update by authorities shows at least 103 people were killed and 141 were injured in the explosions outside Kerman’s Martyrs Cemetery on Wednesday.  

 The explosions came on the day people held a memorial service for General Qassem Soleimani, the late Iranian commander who was assassinated on January 3, 2020 in a US drone strike in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. 

Soleimani, who is originally from Iran’s Kerman province, has been buried in the Martyrs Cemetery of the provincial capital.